U.S. patent application number 14/297277 was filed with the patent office on 2015-12-10 for synchronized zooming across multiple plots.
The applicant listed for this patent is General Electric Company. Invention is credited to Nicholas Ryan Aboumrad.
Application Number | 20150356705 14/297277 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53284529 |
Filed Date | 2015-12-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150356705 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Aboumrad; Nicholas Ryan |
December 10, 2015 |
SYNCHRONIZED ZOOMING ACROSS MULTIPLE PLOTS
Abstract
Systems and methods include manipulating multiple data plots.
The multiple data plots each have horizontal and vertical
dimensions and include active and inactive zoom plots. After
determining whether the inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized
with the active zoom plot in the horizontal or vertical dimension
when zooming the active zoom plot and an indication that the active
zoom plot is to be zoomed to an active zoom area, an active area
zoom is performed based on the indication using a zoom start point
and a zoom end point in the horizontal or vertical dimension. A
corresponding inactive zoom plot is zoomed by rescaled in the
horizontal or vertical dimension by converting the zoom start and
end points to corresponding inactive zoom start and end points in
the inactive zoom plot using a preset transfer function if the
inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized.
Inventors: |
Aboumrad; Nicholas Ryan;
(Reno, NV) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
General Electric Company |
Schenectady |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53284529 |
Appl. No.: |
14/297277 |
Filed: |
June 5, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/660 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06T 11/206 20130101;
G06F 3/0484 20130101; G06F 2203/04806 20130101; G06T 3/40
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06T 3/40 20060101
G06T003/40; G06T 11/20 20060101 G06T011/20 |
Claims
1. A system, comprising: a processor configured to: cause a display
to display a graphical visualization of a plurality of data plots,
wherein the plurality of data plots each having a plurality of
dimensions, wherein the plurality of data plots comprises: an
active zoom plot; and an inactive zoom plot; determine that the
inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized with the active zoom plot
in at least one dimension of the plurality of dimensions when
zooming the active zoom plot; receive an indication that the active
zoom plot is to be zoomed, wherein the indication comprises a zoom
start point and a zoom end point in the at least one dimension;
zoom the active zoom plot based at least in part on the indication;
and if the inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized, automatically
zoom the inactive zoom plot by rescaling the at least one dimension
by converting the zoom start point and the zoom end point to
corresponding inactive zoom start point and inactive zoom end point
in the inactive zoom plot using a preset transfer function.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one dimension
comprises a horizontal dimension or a vertical dimension of one or
more of the plurality of data plots.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one dimension
comprises a first, second, and third dimension of one or more of
the plurality of data plots.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
determine that one or more of the plurality of dimensions of the
inactive zoom plot are not to be synchronized, wherein zooming the
inactive zoom plot comprises unchanging the unsynchronized
dimensions.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein determining that the one or more
of the plurality of dimensions of the inactive zoom plot are not to
be synchronized comprises receiving an indication of intended
unsynchronization.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein determining that the one or more
of the plurality of dimensions of the inactive zoom plot are not to
be synchronized comprises determining that a unit of measure
corresponding to one or more of the plurality of dimensions of the
inactive zoom plot do not have a preset transfer function to
convert from a unit of measure to corresponding dimensions of the
active zoomed plot.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
cause a display of an alert that a converted inactive zoom start or
end point extends beyond an edge of the inactive zoom plot.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
cause a display of the indication on the active zoom plot using a
solid line.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
cause a display of an inactive zoom indication on the inactive zoom
plot using a dashed line.
10. A method, comprising: determining that at least one inactive
zoom plot is to be synchronized with an active zoom plot when the
active zoom plot is to be zoomed, wherein the synchronization is in
a horizontal or vertical dimension of the at least one inactive
plot and the active zoom plot; receiving an indication of a zoom
area of the active zoom plot comprising a zoom start point and a
zoom end point, wherein the indication of the zoom start and end
points are received relative to an active unit of measure of the
horizontal or vertical dimension of the active zoom plot; and if at
least one inactive plot is to be synchronized, for each of the at
least one inactive plot: converting the zoom start point to an
inactive zoom start point in an inactive unit of measure of the
synchronized dimensions of the at least one inactive zoom plot
using a preset transfer function; converting the zoom end point to
an inactive zoom end point in the inactive unit of measure using
the preset transfer function; and zoom the at least one inactive
plot based at least in part on the converted zoom start and end
points.
11. The method of claim 10, comprising determining that either a
horizontal or vertical dimension of the at least one inactive zoom
plot is not to be synchronized by determining that no preset
transfer function exists between the unit of measure and the
inactive unit of measure.
12. The method of claim 10, comprising: determining that the
inactive zoom end point extends beyond an maximum value for the at
least one inactive plot; and providing an alert that indicates that
the zoom extends beyond the at least one inactive plot.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the alert comprises a visual
alert configured to notify an operator that the zoom extends beyond
the at least one inactive plot.
14. The method of claim 10, comprising: determining that the
inactive zoom start point extends beyond a minimum value for the at
least one inactive plot; and providing an alert that indicates that
zoom extends beyond the at least one inactive plot.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the alert comprises a visual
alert configured to notify an operator that the zoom extends beyond
the at least one inactive plot.
16. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium having stored
thereon instructions that, when executed, are configured to cause a
processor to: cause the display of a graphical visualization of a
plurality of data plots, wherein the plurality of data plots each
having a horizontal and vertical dimension, wherein the plurality
of data plots comprises: an active zoom plot; and an inactive zoom
plot; determine that the inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized
with the active zoom plot in the horizontal or vertical dimension
when zooming the active zoom plot; receive an indication that the
active zoom plot is to be zoomed to an active zoom area, wherein
the active zoom area comprises a zoom start point and a zoom end
point in the horizontal or vertical dimension; zoom the active zoom
plot based at least in part on the indication; and if the inactive
zoom plot is to be synchronized, zoom the inactive zoom plot by
rescaling the horizontal or vertical dimension by converting the
zoom start point and the zoom end point to corresponding inactive
zoom start point and inactive zoom end point in the inactive zoom
plot using a transfer function.
17. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to
cause a display of the indication of the active zoom area on the
active zoom plot using a solid line.
18. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to
cause a display of a inactive zoom area on the inactive zoom plot
using a dashed line.
19. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to
block zooming of the inactive zoom plot in the horizontal or
vertical dimension if no preset transfer function exists between a
unit of measure of the respective horizontal or vertical dimension
of the inactive zoom plot and the respective horizontal or vertical
dimension of the active zoom plot.
20. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16,
wherein the zooming comprises reverse zooming.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to condition
monitoring systems, and more specifically, to synchronized zooming
capabilities for HMI systems of condition monitoring systems, such
as condition monitoring systems for industrial process control
systems.
[0002] Industrial facilities, such as power generation plants, may
include various interrelated equipment and process field devices.
For example, power generation plants may include monitoring the
condition of systems, such as pumps, reciprocating compressors,
turbines, generators, and/or other systems that are desired to be
monitored and the processes for monitoring such systems. In some
embodiments, the power generation plants may also include operating
and maintaining the turbine or generator systems. Certain
industrial control systems may include a human-machine interface
(HMI) system, in which graphical content associated with the
equipment and process field devices of the industrial facility may
be displayed. However, the graphical content may be displayed and
examined individually without displaying graphical content of
multiple plots in a coherent manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the
originally claimed invention are summarized below. These
embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed
invention, but rather these embodiments are intended only to
provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed,
the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar
to or different from the embodiments set forth below.
[0004] In one embodiment, a system includes a processor configured
to cause a display to display a graphical visualization with
multiple data plots. Moreover, the multiple data plots each have
multiple dimensions. The multiple data plots include an active zoom
plot and an inactive zoom plot. The processor is also configured to
determine that the inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized with
the active zoom plot in at least one dimension of the multiple
dimensions when zooming the active zoom plot. The processor is also
configured to receive an indication that the active zoom plot is to
be zoomed. Moreover, the indication includes a zoom start point and
a zoom end point in the at least one dimension. The processor is
also configured to zoom the active zoom plot based at least in part
on the indication. Furthermore, if the inactive zoom plot is to be
synchronized, the processor is configured to automatically zoom the
inactive zoom plot by rescaling the at least one dimension by
converting the zoom start and zoom end points to corresponding
inactive zoom start and zoom end points in the inactive zoom plot
using a preset transfer function.
[0005] In a second embodiment, a method includes determining that
at least one inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized with an
active zoom plot when the active zoom plot is to be zoomed. The
synchronization may be in a horizontal or vertical dimension of the
at least one inactive plot and the active zoom plot. The method
also includes receiving an indication of a zoom area of the active
zoom plot comprising a zoom start point and a zoom end point.
Moreover, the indication of the zoom start and end points are
received relative to an active unit of measure of the horizontal or
vertical dimension of the active zoom plot. If at least one
inactive plot is to be synchronized, the method includes converting
the zoom start point to an inactive zoom start point in an inactive
unit of measure of the synchronized dimensions of the at least one
inactive zoom plot using a preset transfer function for each of the
at least one inactive plot. Also, the method includes converting
the zoom end point to an inactive zoom end point in the inactive
unit of measure using the preset transfer function for each of the
at least one inactive plot if at least one inactive plot is to be
synchronized. Furthermore, the method includes zoom of the at least
one inactive plot based at least in part on the converted zoom
start and end points if the at least one inactive plot is to be
synchronized.
[0006] In a third embodiment, a non-transitory, computer-readable
medium has stored thereon instructions that, when executed, are
configured to cause a processor to cause the display of a graphical
visualization of multiple data plots. The multiple data plots each
have a horizontal and vertical dimension and include an active zoom
plot and an inactive zoom plot. The instructions are also
configured to cause the processor to determine that the inactive
zoom plot is to be synchronized with the active zoom plot in the
horizontal or vertical dimension when zooming the active zoom plot.
Additionally, the instructions are configured to cause the
processor to receive an indication that the active zoom plot is to
be zoomed to an active zoom area. The active zoom area includes a
zoom start point and a zoom end point in the horizontal or vertical
dimension. The instructions are also configured to cause the
processor to zoom the active zoom plot based at least in part on
the indication. The instructions are also configured to cause the
processor to zoom the inactive zoom plot by rescaling the
horizontal or vertical dimension by converting the zoom start point
and the zoom end points to corresponding inactive zoom start and
end points in the inactive zoom plot using a transfer function if
the inactive zoom plot is to be synchronized.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] These and other features, dimensions, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood when the following
detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout
the drawings, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an condition
monitoring system including an HMI operator interface in accordance
with present embodiments;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the HMI
operator interface of FIG. 1 including a semantic zoom of a
turbine-generator system in accordance with present
embodiments;
[0010] FIG. 3A illustrates a pre-zoom display of plots, in
accordance with present embodiments;
[0011] FIG. 3B illustrates a post-zoom display of the plots of FIG.
3A, in accordance with present embodiments;
[0012] FIG. 4A illustrates a pre-zoom display of plots, in
accordance with present embodiments;
[0013] FIG. 4B illustrates a post-zoom display of the plots of FIG.
4A, in accordance with present embodiments;
[0014] FIG. 5A illustrates a pre-zoom display of plots, in
accordance with present embodiments;
[0015] FIG. 5B illustrates a post-zoom display of the plots of FIG.
5A, in accordance with present embodiments;
[0016] FIG. 6A illustrates a pre-unzoom display of an active plot,
in accordance with present embodiments;
[0017] FIG. 6B illustrates a pre-unzoom display of the an inactive
plot corresponding to the active plot of FIG. 6A, in accordance
with present embodiments; and
[0018] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a
process for performing a synchronous zoom in accordance with
present embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] One or more specific embodiments of the present invention
will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise
description of these embodiments, all features of an actual
implementation may not be described in the specification. It should
be appreciated that in the development of any such actual
implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous
implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the
developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related
and business-related constraints, which may vary from one
implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that
such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but
would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication,
and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of
this disclosure.
[0020] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the
present invention, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are
intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The
terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be
inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than
the listed elements.
[0021] Present embodiments relate to methods and systems of
applying synchronized zooming across multiple embodiments in
monitoring system, such as industrial HMI systems. In some
embodiments, the HMI may include multiple plots corresponding to
various data, such as a plot for each of multiple pieces of
equipment at the same time, a single piece of equipment at multiple
time periods, multiple pieces of equipment captured at different
times, same or different measurements from various sensors on a
single piece of equipment at the same time or at different times,
or some combination thereof.
[0022] In particular, as the operator begins a zoom within one plot
of the area or graphical device, a corresponding zoom may be
automatically previewed in other plots. This corresponding zoom may
occur in real time or near real time allowing for coordinated
viewing of multiple plots, views, etc. simultaneously.
[0023] For example, a synchronized zoom may enable an operator to
quickly zoom across multiple similar plots simultaneously even when
units may be different but have a transfer function between (e.g.,
T=1/f, etc.). Synchronized zooms may also be shown across the
multiple plots by using solid lines for an actively selected zoom
and dashed lines for zooms in inactive areas (e.g., areas not being
currently actively manipulated). Synchronized zooming may also be
applied in reverse zooming situations where a plot is being zoomed
out. In some embodiments, when a synchronized zoom may extend
beyond an edge of an inactive plot, visual alerts may be presented
as any suitable visual representation for alerting an operator that
the zoom extends beyond the edge of the plot.
[0024] With the foregoing mind, it may be useful to describe an
embodiment that may display multiple plots such as a conditioning
system for an industrial process control system 10 as depicted in
FIG. 1. The control system 10 may include a computer 12 suitable
for executing a variety of field device configuration and
commissioning applications, and for providing an operator interface
through which an engineer or technician may monitor the devices of
the control system 10. Accordingly, the computer 12 may include a
processor 13 that may be used in processing computer instructions,
and a memory 15 that may be used to store computer instructions and
other data. These instructions may be encoded in programs stored in
tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the memory
15 or other storage. The computer 12 may include any type of
computing device suitable for supporting software applications,
such as a laptop, a workstation, a tablet computer, or a handheld
portable device (e.g., personal digital assistant or cell phone).
Indeed, the computer 12 may include any of a variety of hardware
and/or operating system platforms.
[0025] In accordance with some embodiments, the computer 12 may
host industrial condition monitoring software, such as a
human-machine interface (HMI) (e.g., combined software and hardware
system) 14, a manufacturing execution system (MES) 16, a
distributed control system (DCS) 18, and/or a supervisor control
and data acquisition (SCADA) system 20. The HMI 14, MES 16, DCS 18,
and/or SCADA 20 may include executable code instructions stored on
non-transitory tangible computer readable media, such as the memory
15 of the computer 12. For example, computer 12 may support
PowerOn.TM. suite, ControlST.TM., ToolboxST.TM. software, System
1.RTM. Condition Monitoring Software, available from General
Electric Co., of Schenectady, N.Y., vibration monitoring software,
and/or other condition monitoring software.
[0026] Further, in certain embodiments, the computer 12 may be
communicatively connected to a plant data highway 22 which may
allow for enabling communication between the depicted computer 12
and other computers in the plant. Indeed, the industrial control
system 10 may include multiple computer systems interconnected
through the plant data highway 22. The computer 12 may be further
communicatively connected to a unit data highway 24, which may
couple the computer 12 to an industrial controller 26. The
industrial controller 26 may include a processor 27 and a memory 35
suitable for executing and storing computer instructions and/or
control logic useful in automating a variety of plant equipment,
such as a turbine system 28, a valve 30, a pump 32, and a
temperature sensor 34. Other plant equipment may include flow
meters, vibration sensors, pressure transmitters, level
transmitters, actuators, relays, and so forth.
[0027] In certain embodiments, the turbine system 28, the valve 30,
the pump 32, and the temperature sensor 34 may be communicatively
coupled to the industrial controller 26 by using linking devices 36
and 38 suitable for interfacing between an I/O network 40 and an H1
network 42 (i.e., a fieldbus network operating at 31.25
kbits/second.). As depicted, the linking devices 36 and 38 may
include processors 17 and 19, respectively, useful in executing
computer instructions, and may also include memory 24 and 23,
useful in storing computer instructions and other data. In certain
embodiments, the I/O network 40 may be a 100 Megabit (MB) high
speed Ethernet (HSE) network, and the H1 network 42 may be a 31.25
kilobit/second network. Accordingly, data transmitted and received
through the I/O network 40 may in turn be transmitted and received
by the H1 network 42. That is, the linking devices 36 and 38 may
act as bridges between the I/O network 40 and the H1 network 42.
For example, higher speed data on the I/O network 40 may be
buffered, and then transmitted at suitable speed on the H1 network
42. Accordingly, a variety of field devices may be linked to the
industrial controller 26 and to the computer 12.
[0028] Each of the linking devices 36 and 38 may include one or
more segment ports 44 and 46 useful in segmenting the H1 network
42. For example, the linking device 36 may use the segment port 44
to communicatively couple with the device 28 and 34, while the
linking device 38 may use the segment port 36 to communicatively
couple with the devices 30 and 32. Distributing the input/output
between the devices 28, 30, 32, and 34 by using, for example, the
segment ports 44 and 46, may enable a physical separation useful in
maintaining fault tolerance, redundancy, and improving
communications time.
[0029] In certain embodiments, the HMI 14 may be executable by
computer 50 (e.g., including processor 51 and memory 52), which may
be used by an operator 53 to interface with the industrial control
system 10 via an HMI operator interface 56. Accordingly, the
computer 50 may include various input and output devices (e.g.,
mouse, keyboard, monitor, touch screen, printer, eye-tracking
display, or other suitable input or output device) such that the
operator 53 may provide commands (e.g., control and/or operational
commands) to the industrial control system 10 and receive reports
from the industrial control system 10. Furthermore, in certain
embodiments, the computer 50 may be communicatively coupled to the
computer system 12 (e.g., the HMI 14) through direct or indirect
techniques in order to receive information regarding the operation
of the HMI 14. For example, a signal conduit (e.g., cable, wireless
router) may be used to directly couple the computer 50 to the
computer 12. Likewise, a file transfer mechanism (e.g., remote
desktop protocol (RDP), file transfer protocol (FTP), manual
transfer, or other suitable mechanism) may be used to indirectly
send or to receive data (e.g., files, firmware, updates). Further,
cloud 54 computing techniques may be used, in which all or part of
the HMI 14 resides in the cloud 54 and communicates directly or
indirectly with the computer system 12 (e.g., via a network or the
Internet). As will be further appreciated, the HMI 14 may allow the
operator 53, for example, to perform a semantic zoom of one or more
components of the industrial control system 10.
[0030] In certain embodiments, such as the HMI operator interface
56 as depicted in FIG. 2, the HMI operator interface 56 of the
computer system 12 may include a graphical display representative
from various sources. It should be appreciated that the
turbine-generator system 58 is included merely for the purpose of
illustration. Other embodiments may include a variety of industrial
systems such as various power plants (e.g., electrical power,
mechanical power, hydroelectric power, and nuclear power), chemical
plants, manufacturing plants, oil and gas refineries, and the like.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the synchronous zooming discussed
herein may be used for non-industrial systems that include multiple
data sources and/or time periods for data. As depicted, the HMI
operator interface 56 may be used to monitor an industrial system
during real-time, near real-time operation, and/or subsequent to
operation of the industrial system. For example, the graphical
turbine-generator system 58 may include a combustor 60, a turbine
62, an exhaust 64, a compressor 68, an intake 70, and a generator
72. It should be appreciated that each of the components (e.g.,
turbine 62, generator 72, compressor 68) may include a number of
sensors (e.g., temperature sensor 34, as well as pressure
transmitters, flow transmitters, level transmitters, fuel sensors,
clearance sensors, and so forth) and field devices (e.g., pump 32,
valve 30, as well as actuators, relays, and so forth). The sensors
and transmitters may be used to monitor and control various
physical, environmental, and operational parameters related to the
operation and performance of the turbine-generator system 58. In
certain embodiments, the parameters may include ambient
temperature, ambient pressure, humidity, air quality, exhaust gas
temperature, rotor speed, engine temperature, engine pressure, fuel
temperature, engine fuel flow, exhaust flow, vibration, clearance
between rotating and stationary components, compressor discharge
pressure, or other suitable parameters. Information relating to the
parameters may be tracked and displayed in the HMI operator
interface 56 using multiple plots.
[0031] In certain embodiments, an operator (e.g., operator 53)
monitoring the turbine-generator system 58 may wish to observe a
zoom view of one or more of the plots. The presently disclosed
embodiments may allow the operator 53 to perform a synchronized
zoom of plots related to the sensors and/or field devices. For
example, in one embodiment, as further depicted in FIG. 2, the
operator 53 may view plots related to a class 80 of the sensors or
devices, such as feedwater pumps 82 and 84. It may again be worth
noting that the illustration of FIG. 2 is included merely for the
purpose of illustration. In other words, as previously discussed,
any number of sensors (e.g., temperature sensor 34, vibration
sensors, and the like) and field devices (e.g., valve 30 and the
like) may be coupled to any number of components (e.g., turbine 62,
generator 72, compressor 68, pumps, reciprocating compressors,
gearboxes, and/or other similar components) of the monitored
system. Furthermore, as will be further appreciated with respect to
FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, a synchronized zoom may be performed to
display specific areas, zones, time periods, and sensors within the
industrial facility, and so forth. The areas may include nearby,
inside, about, or to a portion of the gas turbine system 62, the
compressor 68, the load 72, or any other component, machinery,
and/or areas that may be included with an industrial system.
[0032] FIG. 3A illustrates a pre-zoom display of a first plot 100
having a first graph 102 and a second plot 104 having second graph
106. The first plot 100 corresponds to an active area that is being
actively manipulated. The second plot 104 corresponds to an
inactive area that corresponds to the first plot 100. For example,
in certain embodiments, the first plot 100 might be a trend
measured at a sensor with the second plot 104 being a related trend
such that the trends together form a stack trend that may include
1, 2, 3, 4, or more plots. In some embodiments, the plots 100 and
104 may correspond to measurements at different points in time
(e.g., timebases). In some embodiments, when a zoom is performed in
an active area (e.g., first plot 100), a solid zoom box 108 is used
to illustrate an area of interest upon which the zoom will occur. A
corresponding dotted zoom box 110 may be presented on an inactive
area. When the plot 104 is synchronized with the plot 100, a zoom
in the active area may be used to zoom in the inactive area using
the same scales selected in the active area. In certain
embodiments, the plots 100 and 104 may be synchronized vertically
(e.g., height, ordinate, y-axis), horizontally (e.g., width,
abscissa, x-axis), and/or other suitable axes (e.g., depth,
applicate, z-axis, time dimension, etc.). Furthermore, as
illustrated in the current embodiment, when two plots have
different units of measure (e.g., Hz, cycles per minute (cpm),
etc.) that have a mappable function, the plots 100 and 104 may be
resized based on the conversion. For example, in plot 100, when the
zoom box 108 is selected to begin at active zoom start 112 (e.g.,
500 Hz), the processor 13 converts the value for the active zoom
start 112 to a corresponding value for inactive zoom start 114
(e.g., 30 kcpm). Similarly, the zoom box 108 may have an active
zoom end point 116 (e.g., 1,000 Hz) that the processor 13 converts
to an inactive zoom end 118 (e.g., 60 kcpm). In other words, as
long as a known translation function exists between a horizontal
scale of the first plot 100 and the second plot 104, the horizontal
aspects (e.g., horizontal dimension) of the plots 100 and 104 may
be synchronized. Although the foregoing discussion only discusses
horizontal synchronization, some embodiments may include horizontal
and/or vertical synchronization of zooming.
[0033] FIG. 3B shows a first result plot 120 and a second result
plot 122 that may result from the zoom box 108. As illustrated, the
first result plot 120 includes a zoomed view of a portion of the
graph 102 that is located in the zoom box 108. Specifically, the
entire first result plot 120 is located between a rectangular box
formed by active zoom start 112 and the active zoom end 116 both
horizontally and vertically. Similarly, the entire second result
plot 122 is located between a rectangular box formed by inactive
zoom start 114 and the inactive zoom end 118 both horizontally and
vertically. Since the first and second plots 100 and 104 included
an equivalent vertical zoom, the vertical scale for the first and
second result plots 120 and 122 may have been synchronized or may
have merely retained an original scale, as discussed below.
[0034] FIG. 4A illustrates a first plot 130, a second plot 132, and
a third plot 134, collectively referred to as the plots 130-134. As
illustrated, the first plot 130 is the actively manipulated plot
that includes lines 136, 138, and 140; the second plot 132 is an
inactive area including lines 142, 144, and 146; and the third plot
134 is an inactive area including a line 148. The lines 136, 138,
140, 142, 144, 146, and 148 may include data reflecting actual
measurements, expected values, thresholds, other suitable data
represented in line form in a plot, or some combination thereof.
When an active zoom box 150 is created in the first plot 130,
similar zoom inactive zoom boxes 152 and 154 are created in the
second plot 132 and the third plot 134, respectively. Each of the
plots 130-134 has an abscissa measuring a time base that is
represented on the same scale in each of the plots 130-134.
[0035] Furthermore, in the current embodiment, plots 130-134 may be
synchronized in their respective horizontal aspects to cause a zoom
in any of the plots 130-134 to result in a similar zoom in the
other plots. For example, the active zoom box 150 may be selected
from Dec. 15 to Dec. 29 and corresponding inactive zoom boxes 152
and 154 may also be selected for the same period.
[0036] However, there exists situations in which the various plots
130-134 do not have consistent vertical scales, but the zooming may
be vertically synched if a transfer function exists between the
units of measurements (e.g., in/s, g, etc.). In the current
embodiment, the plots 130 and 132 are vertically synchronized, but
the plot 134 is not synchronized with the plots 130 and 132. For
example, in some embodiments, there may not be a transfer function
or an operator may select which plots are to be synchronized by
indicating whether each plot should be individually synchronized
horizontally and/or vertically with an actively manipulated plot.
Additionally or alternatively, links may be created between plots
(e.g., plots 130 and 132) that cause one plot to be synchronized in
one or more aspect when a linked plot is an actively zoomed
plot.
[0037] As previously discussed, plots 130 and 132 are vertically
synchronized. Accordingly, when a zoom is performed within either
plot 130 or plot 132, the other plot is zoomed to the same scale.
However, since plot 134 is not vertically synchronized with plots
130 or 132, if a zoom is performed within either plot 130 or plot
132, the plot 134 will not undergo a synchronized zoom in the
vertical dimension but may be synchronously zoomed in the
horizontal dimension. In some embodiments, the plot 134 may remain
on a pre-zoom scale in the vertical aspect of the plot 134 while a
zoom is performed in the horizontal aspect of the plot 134.
Additionally or alternatively, the plot 134 may be zoomed in the
vertical aspect in an amount proportional to an amount of zoom of
the horizontal aspect of the plot 134.
[0038] FIG. 4B illustrates result plots 156, 158, and 160. Result
plot 156 corresponds to a zoomed view of plot 130, result plot 158
corresponds to a zoomed view of plot 132, and result plot 160
corresponds to a zoomed view of plot 134. The result plot 156
includes portions of the lines 138 and 140 located within the
active zoom box 150. But the line 136 from the result plot, because
the line 136 is outside the active zoom box 150 in the plot 130.
Similarly, the line 142 is omitted from result plot 158, because
the line 142 is located outside the inactive zoom box 152 of the
plot 132. Accordingly, only portions of lines 144 and 146 in the
inactive zoom box 152 are included in the result plot 158. Result
plot 160 includes the portion of the line 148 that passes through
the inactive zoom box 154 of the plot 134. As illustrated, the
horizontal aspects of the result plots 156-160 include the same
horizontal scale as each other resulting from a synchronized
horizontal zoom, and the vertical aspects of the result plots 156
and 158 include the same vertical scale resulting from a
synchronized vertical zoom. In the current embodiment, the vertical
scale of the result plot 160 is the same as the original scale of
the plot 134, because the plot 134 was not vertically synchronized
with the plot 130.
[0039] When two plots are synchronously zoomed and the zoom extends
beyond a known data point for one of the plots, the processor 13
may issue feedback to an operator 53 indicating that the zoom
extends beyond a maximum value for one of the plots. For example,
FIG. 5A illustrates plots 170 and 172 both having an abscissa
corresponding to a frequency and an ordinate corresponding to in/s.
When an active zoom box 174 is created in the plot 172 from 2000 Hz
to 5000 Hz, an inactive zoom box 176 is created in the plot 170
that begins at 2000 Hz and extends to an end of the plot 170 (e.g.,
3000 Hz). When an inactive zoom box extends to an end of a plot, an
operator 53 might be alerted to verify that the zoom pertains to
values outside the plot. In some embodiments, additional alerts
(e.g., popup boxes, color highlights, text, sound) may be presented
to the operator indicating that the zoom extends past the plots
boundaries. For example, FIG. 5B illustrates a possible alert text
180 that may be used to alert an operator 53 that the zoom extended
beyond a maximum value 182 for the plot 170 when representing
result plots 184 and 186. In other embodiments, alerts may be
displayed prior to a zoom, and the alerts may block the zoom when a
portion of the zoom extends beyond a maximum or minimum value for a
plot that is not being actively zoomed.
[0040] Although the foregoing discussion specifically discussing
synchronous zooming in the context of zooming into a plot,
synchronized unzooming (e.g., reverse zoom, zooming away, zooming
out) may also be performed. FIG. 6A illustrates an active plot 190
that may be unzoomed using an active unzoom box 192 detailing that
an unzoom is going to occur. In some embodiments, the active unzoom
box 192 may indicate a location and/or amount of unzooming to be
performed. FIG. 6B illustrates an inactive unzoom box 194
indicating that a corresponding unzoom is going to occur. In some
embodiments, the inactive unzoom box 194 may illustrate an amount
and/or location of unzoom relative to an inactive plot 196. In
certain embodiments, the unzoom may return to a scale that was used
prior to the previous zoom. In some embodiments, the scales of the
horizontal and/or vertical aspects may be synchronized between the
plots 190 and 196 to reproduce the same scale in the horizontal
and/or vertical aspects when the unzoom is performed.
[0041] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for
synchronizing zooming across multiple plots. The processor 13
determines that at least one inactive zoom plot (e.g., plot 132) is
to be synchronized with an active zoom plot (e.g., plot 130) when
the active zoom plot is to be zoomed, wherein the synchronization
is in a horizontal or vertical aspect of the at least one inactive
plot and the active zoom plot (block 200). In some embodiments, the
processor 13 may cause a display of graphical visualization of the
data plots with each plot having a horizontal and vertical aspect.
The processor 13 also receives an indication of a zoom area (e.g.,
zoom area 150) of the active zoom plot comprising a zoom start
point (e.g., point 114) and a zoom end point (e.g., point 116),
wherein the indication of the zoom start and end points are
received relative to an active unit of measure of the horizontal or
vertical aspect of the active zoom plot (block 202). If the
processor 13 determines that at least one inactive plot is to be
synchronized, the processor 13 converts the zoom start point to an
inactive zoom start point in an inactive unit of measure of the
synchronized aspects of the at least one inactive zoom plot using a
transfer function (block 204). Furthermore, if the processor 13
determines that at least one inactive plot is to be synchronized,
the processor 13 converts the zoom end point to an inactive zoom
end point in the inactive unit of measure using the transfer
function (block 206). Moreover, if the processor 13 determines that
at least one inactive plot is to be synchronized, the processor 13
zooms the at least one inactive plot based at least in part on the
converted zoom start and end points (block 208). In some
embodiments, the processor 13 may zoom the inactive plot in real
time or near real time of a corresponding active plot zoom. In some
embodiments, the processor 13 may perform the forgoing steps by
executing instructions that are stored in the memory 15, 24, or 35.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the processor 13 may cause a
display of representations of the plot via a display of the
computer 12.
[0042] Although the foregoing discussion contemplates manual
manipulation of zoom start and end points from a user, other
embodiments may be employed to determine a zoom area. For instance,
in some embodiments, a zoom may be initiated by using a rolling or
scrolling movement using a movement of a mouse, a movement of a
mouse wheel, a trackpad, a touch screen, or other suitable input
devices for communicating a desire to zoom, a location of a zoom,
and/or amount of zoom. In some embodiments, the zoom area may be
entered using a keyboard (graphical or actual), a zoom value
picker, and/or other input techniques. Furthermore, in certain
embodiments, the zoom area may be quickly moved within a plot using
a suitable manipulation technique (e.g., mouse drag, mouse wheel
scroll, etc.)
[0043] In other words, the technical problem addressed by the
application relates to a need for quickly enabling identification
of a state of a machine. This disclosure presents a technical
advantage by quickly and automatically presenting data for
identification of states of machines by visually coordinating the
data with other data from other times or machines that correspond
to similar states that might have been previously identified.
[0044] This written description uses examples to disclose the
invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and
using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the
claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled
in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope
of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ
from the literal language of the claims, or if they include
equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from
the literal language of the claims.
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